Basic Fact: Wearing a veil, as Iraqi-American Shaima
al-Awady did before she was brutally murdered in her
home as part of a hate crime, does not make a person a
terrorist. You don't mind it when pious Roman Catholic
women wear a nun's habit, and you recognize that dress
as a sign of dedication to God. You don't blame all
the violence ever committed by Roman Catholics, or
events like the Inquisition, on a nun in your
neighborhood. Be as tolerant to pious Muslim women.

Basic Fact: Wearing a hoodie is not an invitation
to murder, as Geraldo Rivera suggested it was in the
case of Trayvon Martin. In fact, if you think about
it, St. Francis of Assisi wore a hood, as did many
other saints and monks. In the United States, we don't
kill people for how they dress, but how dressing like
St. Francis is a crime is a special mystery.

Basic Fact: And, by the way, there is nothing worse
than being both a bigot and a f*ck-up. So for God's
sake leave the poor Sikhs alone. Few Muslim men wear
turbans, so if you see someone with a turban and a
beard, he is likely from Indian Punjab and not a
Muslim. I mean, you shouldn't be bothering Muslims
either, but your sad ass is definitely going to clown
hell if you shoot down a Sikh because you mistook him
for a Muslim.

Basic Fact: And by the way, all this emphasis on
clothing as a motive for murder is just a smokescreen
for sidestepping the real issue, which is that bigots
shouldn't be allowed to have hand guns. In fact, since
you can't hunt deer with a hand gun and most owners of
a hand gun are not reservists in the National Guard of
their state, it is unclear why the US tolerates so
many hand guns. In countries like Britain, which do
not, the murder rate by gun is vanishingly small
compared to the annual carnage in the US.

Woman beaten and taunted as she
wore hijab

A young Muslim student was punched in the face and
racially taunted as she walked down a Dublin street
wearing a head scarf.

A Dublin mother (23) has been convicted for assaulting
the young Libyan, who was rescued by a passing
motorist who stopped and helped her home.

Helen Doran's victim was wearing a traditional Muslim
hijab or head scarf. Doran followed her across a road
after assaulting her and continued to shout racist
insults at her.

Doran, of Castlecurragh Vale in Mulhuddart, admitted
before Blanchardstown District Court to assaulting a
20-year-old Libyan student on November 2 last year.

Judge Anthony Halpin sentenced Doran to three months
in prison, suspended for one year.

Garda Sergeant Maria Callaghan said the victim was
walking along Castlecurragh Road when two men and a
woman approached her.

The victim had just attended a FAS course and was
putting credit into her mobile phone.

The sergeant said the woman was wearing a traditional
Muslim head scarf, and Doran and her accomplices
started taunting her.

The court heard one of the men grabbed the woman's
mobile phone and Doran punched her in the face.

Sgt Callaghan said Doran repeatedly shouted racist
slurs at the woman, who crossed the road to get away
from her attacker.

However, Doran followed her across the road and
continued to shout racist insults at her.

Sgt Callaghan said a motorist stopped and helped the
victim, who later reported the matter to gardai.

Ashamed

Defence solicitor John O'Doherty said Doran, a married
mum of one, had been drinking heavily and was on
tablets.

Mr O'Doherty said Doran was completely ashamed of her
behaviour and had never been in this kind of trouble
before. He said she was under the influence of one of
her accomplices at the time, and he is also before the
courts.

Judge Halpin said Doran frightened the young woman and
made her feel like a lesser person. He gave her a
three- month suspended sentence.